On November 13, 2023, the play Harmony finally debuted on Broadway after 30 years of production. This tenured play provides an intriguing and historically based plot, entertaining and emotional scenes, and thought-provoking questions throughout the entertaining musical.
Harmony tells the story of a group of six men from unique backgrounds in the 1920’s and 30’s; a Rabbi, a surgeon, a pianist, an opera bass, an actor, and a Bulgarian. These men, three of whom were Jewish, began to combine their talents of singing, dancing, and entertaining into a performing group, the Comedian Harmonists. They gradually work their way up from a small, local group in Germany, and eventually, the Comedian Harmonists catapult into international success with millions of albums sold worldwide.
However, if this group was so famous and large in influence, how come we have not heard of them?
“‘I had never heard of them. And I thought, (Manilow) knows every song ever written,’” said co-writer Bruce Sussman on AP News after learning about the group from a German documentary, inspiring him to write this musical.
Many were curious as to why the Comedian Harmonists faded into obscurity. As depicted in the musical, in the 1930’s, Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party took power in Germany. When Hitler found out about the success of the Comedian Harmonists, he issued them an ultimatum. They could either alter their routine to promote Nazi propaganda, and continue to be rich and famous beyond belief, or he would ensure their reputation was ruined and they would never play another show again. Thus, the Comedian Harmonists were left with a choice; fame and wealth, or dignity and honor. Although a tough decision, the Harmonists were sure they had made the right choice.
This play did not experience success overnight, however, it took decades of hard work and determination for Harmony to make Broadway. Written in the 90’s, the first official performance of Harmony came in 1997 at the La Jolla Playhouse in San Diego. While one might expect a first performance to be quite different from a Broadway performance, co-writer Barry Manilow disagrees.
“‘Basically, it was ‘Harmony’ even in 1997 at the La Jolla Playhouse. Great reviews. Everybody loved it,’” Manilow said on ABC News.
In 2013, the musical was refined and performed at the Alliance Theater in Atlanta, along with showings in Los Angeles in 2014, before theatrical producer Ken Davenport helped bring Harmony to Broadway. Cast as the six Comedian Harmonists are Sean Bell, Danny Kornfeld, Blake Roman, Eric Peters, Zal Owen, and Steven Telsey.
Co-writer Bruce Sussman explains the importance of this story by saying that he “‘would just like people to know that three Jews and three Gentiles got together and made harmony and found harmony in the broadest sense of the word and that they not be forgotten,’” (broadway.com).
The story of the Harmonists is a story of triumph, downfall, and most importantly of unity. These core principles motivated the crew to spend decades pushing this message from local theaters all the way up to Broadway.